Cinderzelda
by ThaliaAnderson
Summary: First draft. The classic tale of Cinderella switched and shifted to match Legend of Zelda. Starring Zelda Harkinian and her step-mom, Telma and her step-daughters, Malon and Ruto.
1. Prologue

I'll admit it. I was confused. What was going on? One second, I knew my dad was dating some chick. The next, I was standing beside the alter, holding a bouquet and staring numbly at the crowd that had gathered. I heard them say, "I do," and saw them kiss. It was all a little overwhelming.

Let's add to the confusion. This woman hated me. She bossed me around when my dad wasn't looking and had her daughters torture me when I was at school. Malon and Ruto. Talk about irritating brats. Those two won the annoying award of the century.

Then, something else happened. Dad died. That's right. He was hit by a drunk driver on his way home from work, and _bam, _I was alone. I had my step-mom, Telma, and her daughters, but they weren't… family. They were slave-owners. And they had one slave.

Me.


	2. Chapter 1

One of these days, I'm going to murder my alarm clock. I swear on my life.

I woke up at a blistering six o'clock in the morning. Now, why would I have to wake up so early if school didn't start until seven-fifty? Well, I not only had to get myself ready, I had to make breakfast for my step-mother and my two step-sisters, get those same step-sisters ready themselves, do their homework, and clean their rooms, all while needing to get to school on time. It's a wonder I didn't have to wake up a five o'clock.

Now, why did I, Zelda Harkinian, have to slave over my step-mother and step-sisters? It's quite simple actually.

Because my father was dead. The only one who had protected me from the cruelty of that evil woman sleeping in the plush master bedroom down the hall. Unknowingly, he had kept me safe from all the harshness that she would now deal out to me every single day.

You see, my real mother died when I was really little, maybe four or five. And so, my father started dating again. That's when he found… _her. _He found… _it._

Telma.

She was cruel and cold to me whenever my father wasn't around, but as soon as he walked into the room, she treated me like the most precious thing to her in the entire world. But she didn't care about me. She cared about my father's money. My poor, father, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule.

They eventually got married, of course. Telma hooked her claws into him and reeled him in like a helpless reekfish. My father barely convinced her to let me be the maid of honor over her two daughters.

But, soon after (a year's time?), my dad was killed in a car crash. Oh, of course, Telma got all of his money. And she also got me. We moved into a bigger house (much bigger than we needed), and she bought many knick knacks for herself and her two precious girls, Malon and Ruto.

Now, my father's no longer here to keep order. No longer here to protect me from the venom of his wife. And I had been turned into a slave laborer.

So, I crawled out of my bed, into the cold dark room. My bare legs shivered in the freezing morning air. My nightgown did little to protect me. I turned to face the bed and meekly pulled the sheets up past the pillow, a vague manner of making the bed. I didn't really have much left in me since my dad had died. Nine years ago. It seemed so far away…

I snuck into the bathroom, doing all I could to avoid creaky floorboards so as not to wake the sleeping family. I closed and locked the door behind me. Finally, I straightened up and took a look in the mirror.

My blonde hair was tied up in a ratty ponytail, not exactly thrilling. My cheeks looked sunken and hollow, ghostly in comparison to my too-bright blue eyes. I pulled out the hair tie and took a look at the tangled mess. I frowned at the reflection and grabbed a hairbrush from the bathroom drawer. I dragged it through, pulling the snarls out of the blonde hair. It took almost five minutes to get it straight again. I then took three sections of the left side and braided the strands, mirroring the style on the other side. I stuck a headband on, leaving the rest of the golden mess down. I was often mocked for the style, but I thought it was pretty.

I took a five minute shower and got dressed, throwing minimal make up onto my blonde lashes and pale cheeks. I cast another sad glance at the sorry reflection across from me before exiting the bathroom.

I glanced at the clock to realize it was six-thirty. Crap. They were going to be up in half an hour, and I hadn't even started breakfast yet.

I grabbed my backpack from under the bed and darted down the stairs, as silently as I could manage. Heaven knows what Telma would do to me if I woke her up at this unearthly hour.

I dropped the pack on a chair and snatched a couple pans from the rack above the counter. I cracked a few eggs into them over the stove and scrambled them in five minutes. New record. Sweet deal. I fried up some bacon next and toasted some bread as well. It was a neat seven o'clock by the time everything was set at the table and perfect.

Just in time.

I heard thundering footsteps and glanced up to see my step-sisters fumble down the stairs, barely awake. I rolled my eyes. I hoped they wouldn't be late again.

"Morning, Malon. Ruto," I greeted as cheerily as I could manage, considering who I was talking to.

Neither answered as they sat sullenly at the table and took a whiff of what I'd made for them.

"Eggs? _Again_?" Ruto groaned, poking them with her fork, a disgusted look on her face. Her pale blonde hair took on a blue-ish glow in the lighting. She had it tied up in two buns behind her head, not quite ponytails. Her bright blue eyes shone with ignorance, if that was even possible.

"Bleh," Malon agreed, shoving the breakfast away from her. "Do you _know _how many calories are in that slice of bacon?" she demanded, turning up her nose. Malon was much prettier than Ruto, that was for sure. She let her long red hair down loosely, barely a curl at the very tips. Her bangs rested against her forehead in a perfect straight line. She often wore regular dresses, a very preppy fashion.

Malon snagged an apple from the bowl on the counter, while Ruto just got up from the table and left, muttering to herself.

I rolled my eyes and groaned inwardly, picking up both plates from the table. I dumped them in the sink carelessly, snapping on the garbage disposal viciously. I heard the two girls' feet pounding up the stairs, on their way to pretty themselves up for the day.

While I was stuck doing the dishes.

I scrubbed the plates angrily, being just careful enough to not break anything. I prayed to the goddesses that I would get finished quickly so I could leave for school without having to see any part of my family again that morning.

The heavens above graced me, and I was done with cleaning the kitchen in a solid ten minutes. That included dishes, sweeping, mopping and Windex-ing the counter. I grabbed my backpack from the chair where I'd previously deposited it, and cracked the front door open slowly, so as not to alert anybody I was leaving. I closed it swiftly behind me, and broke out into a run. The back smacked into my knees as I took off down the middle of the street. The 'family' only had two cars. One for Malon and Ruto to use, one for Telma. I had to walk to school.

Err… run.

I was halfway down the street before I heard a scream from the second story window. I spun around, still jogging backwards, to see Ruto sticking her head out the window, scowling angrily at me.

"You _brat_!" she shrieked. "You said my geography homework was done!"

I shrugged innocently and turned back around, ignoring her. Another growl of frustration made its way to my ears. I didn't even care about how much trouble I'd be in with Telma when I got home that afternoon. It didn't matter. That one, sweet moment of revenge was worth the lectures and punishments I'd get that night.

But, one of these days, I'm going to murder my step-sisters. I swear on my life.


End file.
